Changeman Episode 51

 

1/25, Episode 51 -- "Nana! Tell Him!"

Nana's back! Since we last saw her, it seems she's settled down and makes ends meet by delivering papers. While she stares longingly at some passing, ordinary schoolgirls -- the life she wants but can't have -- she continues about her duty, crossing an abandoned church. There, she hears a woman suffering and the worried calls of a child. Now, considering all that Nana's been put through, I wouldn't think less of her for just keep on walking and keeping out of it. In fact, I'd advise her to run. But Nana's a good person, so she investigates and finds...a collapsed Zoorii and a worried Warajii! Nana recognizes the similarities between the two and Gator, and that's all Zoorii wanted to hear -- shocked that Nana knows Gator, she gives Nana the additional job of finding him and telling him that Zoorii's about to give birth to their second child. Nana should have taken my advice and run.

Because Nana's a good person, she keeps her promise, and puts herself in harm's way to find Gator, following a Gozma fighter ship in hope that it will lead her to him. Luckily enough, Gator WAS the one piloting the ship, taking part in Gozma's latest scheme to round up a bunch of Jangeran's eggs to try and hatch a new lifeform, the Neo Jangeran. (And there are a ton of eggs, Gator's carrying sacks of the stuff.) This whole thing's kind of convoluted -- the Gozma send the eggs sinking into the Earth's liquid hot magma; the egg which survives is the Neo Jangeran, the failures will be rejected by the Earth and be spat back up with deadly force. Like I said, convoluted and strange, but the rejected eggs *do* cause serious damage, exploding on impact, just setting everything ablaze. (Sure enough, that poor car falls victim again. And the owner just had it restored!) There are probably some people, Go-busters fans, who will ridicule this plot, but I think the gist of it is basically to underscore that the Jangeran is a rare species; you can't just easily hatch a new one whenever, so you shouldn't wonder why Gozma never hatched thousands of them. And if you look at it that way, it gives further color to Bazuu's decision to split the original Jangeran, and more reasons why it upset Ahames so much. And this method behind this hatching also gives it a kind of ritualistic feeling.

Heading this plan is Super Giluke, which Ahames is not too pleased about. And Giluke gets in some digs, tauntingly ridiculing her for not knowing the hatching process or the possibility of a Neo Jangeran lifeform. It's like old times for Giluke in this episode, as Buuba and Shiima are on his side, and he has the upper hand over Ahames. And it's a boost in his confidence, because Yamamoto gives Giluke a real swagger here, you can see how much he's into making Giluke take imposing stances. He's intimidating here. Super Giluke is not someone you'd want to meet in a dark alley. If you saw him, you'd either freeze and piss yourself in terror or become the new Flash. Now, compare him to the lame villains of today. You see the Kyoryuger villains in a dark alley, the only threat is the risk of death from laughing too hard.

In the midst of all of this, Nana manages to find Gator and deliver the news. And it's news that takes Gator completely by surprise. He's actually torn between whether to go see Zoorii or keep on with his Gozma duties. Giluke picks that moment to pop up and chew Gator out for slacking off, only fueling Gator's decision to be through with Gozma. But he's still the afraid yes-man, so he doesn't know which way to go, so for the moment, he sticks with Gozma. But once he hears that an explosive egg poses a threat to the village where Zoorii is, Gator panics, dropping one of the Jangeran eggs, which REALLY pisses Giluke off. THAT could have been the Neo Jangeran! Gator's ejected from the cave base and attacked by Giluke. Motivational speaker that he is, Super Giluke decides that sending a nice, cooling beverage of laser beams at Gator will correct the situation. What's coming up is actually a favorite moment of mine...

Tsurugi dives in front of Gator to take the blast. Gator's knocked flat down in pain by it, and soon Tsurugi is, too, as he's pleading with Gator to make the right choice, the choice to go to his family, that he knows that's what Gator wants deep down. The part I really like is, when things are looking bad for the two, Hayate, Yuuma, Sayaka and Mai charge Giluke, tackling him, knocking him down. This might not sound like much, but it's awesome. It's awesome that the four of them are that worried about Tsurugi, it's awesome that they have the guts to attempt an attack on Super Giluke who, as I said, is imposing in this episode, and who has been a mysterious, terrifying and deadly opponent since his return from death.

And it pretty much seals the deal for Gator. He's had it with Gozma, and he hands in his resignation by charging into the cave base of their operation and destroying it, surprising everyone from Buuba to Shiima to even Geran. With that, a nicely choreographed fight in the nearby forest breaks out, with the Changeman doing their best to guard Nana and Gator. (Change Dragon takes a nasty claw attack to the back by a Hidora for Nana.) Soon, Nana's leading Gator on their way to Zoorii, Warajii and the incoming baby.

The episode pulls a massive tease, though. After the fight with Gozma and Geran is through, Tsurugi and the others make their way to the church. It's nighttime...and the church is in rubble, thanks to one of the exploding Jangeran eggs earlier. Gator's before the fallen church on his knees, in tears, Nana next to him. Holy shit! Could Changeman have gone this dark?!?! Did the show just kill a pregnant woman and her child?!?! Thankfully, no, as the newborn's cries cut through the silence, everyone following the sound until they reach a pile of rubble, quickly moving it aside to discover Zoorii, Warajii, and the newest, pink hued member of the Gator family all safe. (I hope the psychiatrists on planet Navi are good, because Warajii's going to need 'em after playing midwife.)

Everyone's thrilled that they're all safe, and at the newest addition, and here's a moment where you can appreciate what a talented bunch the Changeman cast are: although a cute design, Zoorii's baby is just an empty wad of pink rubber, but they all have this look on their face that's just totally believable, like they're laying eyes on an adorable infant, and that their safety is a miracle and that Gator came to his senses is a miracle. (There's a reason the scene is set at a church, with the Christian imagery.) That it starts snowing on this night gives the scene a nice bit of mood.

The final, nice touch is that Zoorii names the kid Kukku. Now, this has always been just an assumption on my part, but I think it's in tribute to Nana's pet, Kuuku, who sacrificed itself to help the Changeman way back in episode 34. Now, I know there's the slight difference in the way the two names are written, and I know that Kuuku is a common name for household pets in Japan, but I pretty much base my assumption on the way actress Tokie Shibata has Nana react to the name -- she breaks into a huge smile, and she and Mai kind of look at each other with recognition, with remarks of what a nice name it is. I could be wrong, I don't think I've seen that mentioned in any of the Changeman books or by Changeman fans. That might not have been the intention, but I think it's something that can be taken that way if you choose to.

Next week: Ahames plays as dirty as Giluke and Buuba dies. (What? It's in the title!)